Land Rover and Volvo will reportedly co-develop sport/ute

Land Rover and Volvo will co-develop the replacement for the Freelanderand the Swedes model could be built in Britain. Land Rover and Volvo sport/utes will spring from a shared platform under development by a joint team of Land Rover and Volvo designers and engineers based in England.

The Freelander version will be engineered with the bias toward off-road toughness, while Volvos, probably to be named XC50, will be sportier and more road-friendly. The engines are likely to be shared, but Volvo is likely to use its hallmark five-cylinder units.

The XC50 wont be the first Volvo built in Britain. The P1800 coupe, driven by Roger Moore in The Saint TV series, was built by Brit-based Jensen between 1960 and 1963.